Hundreds flee as military drill sparks bushfire in Marseilles

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The French Foreign Legion is known for the battlefield exploits of its notoriously tough recruits, drawn from across the world. Yesterday it earned rather less glorious publicity after inadvertently setting fire to 1,300 hectares (3,200 acres) of scrubland around Marseilles during a training exercise.

The officer responsible was accused of stupidity after it emerged that soldiers had ignored military regulations not to use tracer shells at the Carpiagne camp near the city. The shells landed in dry bushes in high winds and temperatures of more than 30C (86F), sparking the biggest fire in the area for more than a decade.